No. 6 Maryland men’s lacrosse faced a massive test Saturday. No. 2 Syracuse entered College Park, who hadn’t trailed at any point this season.
The Terps entered halftime down one. Then, they took full control as the offense was in rhythm and the defense was stifling. They downed the Orange at home, 11-7, in a victory that improved coach John Tillman to 7-0 all-time against Syracuse.
Maryland (3-0) dominated the time-of-possession battle. The Orange (3-1) entered with a country-leading mark of plus-25 in possessions for the season, according to Lacrosse Reference, but struggled to garner consistent strings of chances post halftime.
Both teams turned the ball over early on erratic passes. Long-stick midfielder Jack McDonald, who missed the previous two games this season, retrieved a ground ball on the Orange’s opening possession, to start the graduate student’s campaign.
The defensive struggle didn’t last long, though, as both sides notched two scores in the first quarter.
[A lacrosse-filled upbringing led Eric Kolar to Maryland men’s lacrosse]
Maryland’s offense, which entered the day outside the top 40 in the country in scoring, received contributions from a pair of players for its goals. Sophomore midfielder Elijah Stobaugh scored for the first time this season on a quick shot across the field, while senior attacker Matthew Keegan struck for the fifth time this year.
Stobaugh and Keegan were two of eight Terps who scored as the depth of the unit shined. The Terps moved the ball around the cage with decisive passes, leading to multiple opportunities on possessions as the Orange’s defense scrambled to keep up.
“I felt like we got really good efforts,” Tillman said. “We have some guys [where] we’ve been seeing it in flashes, so for those guys to really step up was huge.”
After a Finn Thomson score evened the game at three, Maryland regained its lead midway through the second quarter when senior attacker Eric Spanos took the ball at the X and found attacker Braden Erksa next to the cage. The junior netted four goals in the Terps’ 13-12 overtime victory over Syracuse last season.
The Terps’ defense anticipated well, keeping sticks tall in passing lanes. The Orange’s attackers were forced to win one-on-one — the star eventually did.
Junior Joey Spallina, who became Syracuse’s single-season points leader last year, juked a defender and found a crease in the middle of the field, firing a strike high toward the net late in the first half. He added another goal, unassisted again, to push the Orange up 5-4 at halftime.
[Maryland men’s lacrosse’s increased tempo fueled comeback win]
But the Terps’ defense held him scoreless the rest of the way, with multiple bodies swarming near the ball on almost every possession.
The defense on Spallina worked in unison with improved offense to lead a second-half comeback.
Junior attacker Eliot Dubick’s first goal of the season a few minutes into the third quarter started a four-goal spurt, with a trio of Terps notching scores in the span. The final two came from Spanos, again providing key goals after halftime.
“Something we preach a lot, and I work on with the coaches, is just letting the game come to us,” Spanos said. “I think that’s when we’re most effective as a whole offense … when we’re just playing in the flow the game comes to us, and that’s just where we excel the best.”
The Orange struck shortly after Spanos’ second score to trim its deficit to two entering the fourth frame. They never got closer than that.
Syracuse had multiple shot clock violations as it struggled to find lanes near the cage. Even when it did, goalkeeper Logan McNaney anticipated well. The graduate student saved over 63 percent of the Orange’s shots, a stark improvement from his outing against them last year.
“Logan’s awesome. Every time you know Logan McNaney is going to play great,” McDonald said. “Every time he gets a couple saves, steals a couple, it always gets the bench up. It gets our team up. What he does, it keeps us going.”
Maryland’s offensive explosion continued in the fourth, scoring three more times to secure a huge win. Syracuse, a team that entered with a plus-38 point differential, looked lethargic in the entire second half.
